Entrepreneurs in the developing world have already benefited from peer-to-peer lending programs through the likes of Kiva, Wokai and Jolkona. Now aiming to bring similar benefits to students in those areas is Vittana, a Seattle-based foundation that focuses on educational loans.

Now in beta, Vittana partners with microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout the developing world to catalyze new student lending programs. Potential lenders begin by browsing through the students profiled on the site—current examples include a 19-year-old woman studying industrial administration in Peru, for example, and a 25-year-old man studying financial accounting in Nicaragua. When they see one they'd like to help, they can lend as little as USD 25 toward that student's education. Vittana's local MFI partner—which has already verified that the students listed are hard-working and likely to succeed—then disburses the full amount of that loan to the student. Once the student graduates and gets a job, he or she starts paying back that MFI partner; when the loaned funds are fully repaid, Vittana returns to the lender the full amount that was lent.

We wrote last year about Fynanz and its peer-to-peer student loans, but it's nice to see similar capabilities being brought to students in the developing world. One to partner with, emulate, or otherwise get involved in! (Related: Fighting poverty through microloan guarantees.)

Website: www.vittana.org
Contact: customer-service@vittana.org

Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz

According to 2008 figures quoted by Mercy Corps, 11 million Indonesian children suffer from malnutrition. In the slums of Jakarta, many parents give their children a few rupiah for dinner, which they spend filling up on sweets and junk food from street vendors, leading to anaemia rates of over 50 percent in some areas of the city.

A new social enterprise by Mercy Corps is taking a pragmatic approach to improving children's food intake. The Healthy Street Foods Project has funded a fleet of food stalls and is providing them to selected street-vendors around the city. Worth USD 600 each, these are no ordinary food stalls. Known as Kedai Balitaku ('My Child's Cafe‘), they serve nutritional food at low prices. Each cart comes equipped with a hand-washing station, and they have been designed by Saatchi & Saatchi to be both appealing and accessible to young children, displaying food at child's-eye-level and featuring colourful pictures of 'superkids'. Dishes served include bubur ayam, a rice, chicken and coconut milk porridge served with vegetables for IDR 2,000 (USD 0.20). One bowl satisfies one third of a child's daily calorific needs.

The scheme has already proved popular with children, some of whom are starting to text orders for delivery. But they're not the only ones to benefit. The hand-picked local vendors now own thriving micro-businesses which, according to Mercy Corps, started turning a profit in their second month. It shows the sustainable progress that can be made by empowering local entrepreneurs to combat problems in their own communities. (Related: Food store for kids — Happy healthy meals.)

Website: www.mercycorps.org/countries/indonesia/15689
Contact: www.mercycorps.org/contact

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie

We've written about a number of microfinance organizations in recent years, including not just oft-cited Kiva but also Wokai and Jolkona. Whereas those ventures all strive to help entrepreneurs in the developing world by facilitating direct microloans and donations, however, California-based nonprofit United Prosperity is taking a different approach by focusing on providing loan guarantees instead.

A traditional microloan or donation of USD 100 delivers roughly that same amount to the entrepreneur in need, but providing a loan guarantee of the same amount can result in a much larger loan from a local bank, United Prosperity says—as much as USD 666, in this case. How it works: Potential guarantors browse the United Prosperity site, which features a number of prescreened entrepreneurs in developing countries. They then choose one to help, and contribute a loan guarantee of any amount through PayPal. United Prosperity then consolidates the guarantees on multiple loans for the microfinance partner involved and issues a guarantee, which is deposited as collateral with the local bank. With the assurance of that collateral, the bank is then willing to lend funds—the amount depending on the guarantee percentage it requires—to the microfinance institution, which in turn lends to the individual entrepreneur who was supported. The guarantor can track the entrepreneur's progress building their business, and when the entrepreneur repays the loan, the funds are returned to the guarantor's PayPal account. United Prosperity, meanwhile, earns interest on guarantee funds; it's also considering charging its partners a small fee for providing the guarantee.

Now in beta, United Prosperity cites many advantages to providing loan guarantees rather than simple p2p loans: the process allows recipients to develop a credit history, making future loans easier to obtain; it reduces the interest rates banks charge the microfinance institutions involved; and it better manages risk while providing a more scalable model. So far, 111 guarantors have used the site to help 105 entrepreneurs with more than USD 11,000 in guarantees. One to partner with, emulate, or otherwise get involved in...?

Website: www.unitedprosperity.org
Contact: contactus@unitedprosperity.org

Summertime is filled with opportunities for brands to show they care, whether by helping consumers find a place to change at the beach or by giving them a little cooling refreshment during a heat wave. Targeting the latter option is Soak Media, a UK firm that gives out free bottled water to London commuters courtesy of on-bottle advertising.

Focusing only on the months of July and August, Soak sells advertising space on 330 ml. plastic bottles filled with Buxton water and then hands them out for free to overheated London commuters, who would normally pay GBP 1 or more for such refreshment. Soak's own staff hands out the bottles from an ice-filled cart, after which time it estimates the bottles spend about 50 minutes in the average consumer's hands. The company also does specials including leaflet tip-ons, specially shaped bottles and sampling. Perhaps best of all, however, is that it donates all its profits to charitable causes.

Given the ongoing controversy over plastic water bottles, it's not entirely clear that such vessels will be the right medium to focus on going forward. Nevertheless, the last two heat waves saw a 20 percent increase in bottled water consumption, Soak says, so there's no doubt consumers can use a little extra help staying hydrated. Deliver a little sympvertising—in whatever form—and you'll likely see a nice refreshing boost to your own bottom line! ;-) (Related: New Yorkers invited to refill their water bottles at cafés — Heated bus stops offer sympvertising and samples.)

Website: www.soakmedia.com
Contact: jamie@soakmedia.com

Microlending organisation Kiva has been praised for helping small businesses in developing countries get off the ground by connecting them to individual lenders. Unfortunately, its innovative platform doesn't serve Chinese entrepreneurs, due to restrictions in China's monetary policy. Which is why Casey Wilson and Courtney McColgan established non-profit organisation Wokai, aiming to do for China what Kiva has been doing for other parts of the world. Since peer-to-peer lending isn't an option, Wokai developed a hybrid model that combines traditional donations with the benefits of microloans.

Dedicated to raising capital from around the world for entrepreneurs in rural China, Wokai works with field partners to select candidates for loans. Using a system that's similar to Kiva, people can browse a list of potential borrowers on Wokai's website, donate their chosen amount, and then track the recipient's progress through Wokai. Since they can't be paid back to the donor, loans are recycled: when a recipient pays back a loan to Wokai, the donor can select another farmer or entrepreneur to support. So far, Wokai has raised USD 42,766 for loans to 159 recipients. Many donors have business or family ties to China.

Restrictions spur creativity, and (social) entrepreneurs are no exception. So if you're looking for a new opportunity, an obstacle isn't a bad place to start. (Related: Microcharity uses tangibility to target young donors.)

Website: www.wokai.org
Contact: info@wokai.org